Carlos Rodon finally pitched the way the Yankees expected him to.
Rodon found his rhythm, avoided the usual first-inning concerns, and went seven innings in what was the left-handed pitcher’s most impressive start in more than a month. The Yankees beat the Rays 9-1 on Monday afternoon to clinch the four-game series.
Rodon changed his approach against Baltimore on July 15 after batters ate his fastball.
Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon throws to the Tampa Bay Rays in the first inning at Yankee Stadium. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Instead, he threw several pitches, but due to the high pitch count, he lasted only four innings.
Against the Rays, he turned things around after starting with two fastballs off Amed Rosario only to catch the former Met on his third pitch — an 86 mph slider — for his first of 10 strikeouts that day.
Rodon, who didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning, threw 11 heaters in the first inning, plus two changeups, one curveball and one slider.
“Yeah, I think we’ve been using a little more fastball. We’ve been moving it around a little bit more and the more I do it, the more comfortable I get,” Rodon said of his effective adjustment after the win. “It’s just going out there and doing it. Just moving the fastball around and then throwing some different secondaries, getting ahead a little bit and just finishing with the slider or something else. It’s worked.”
Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) gestures during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
He stuck with his fastball after seeing its effectiveness, and it accounted for 54 percent of his pitches, averaging about 95 mph. He purposely used his slider less (20 pitches).
“It (the slider) was good. I used it late in the count, didn’t show it as much early on, and I think it was a little more effective that way,” Rodon said.
Before Monday, Rodon had a 9.67 ERA in his previous six starts and had not pitched a seven-inning game since June 10 against the Royals.
Manager Aaron Boone has repeatedly expressed his confidence in Rodon, but also acknowledged how much the left-handed pitcher needed Monday’s successful outing.
“When you go through it, to really do your job effectively and pitch as well as he did in this case, yeah, that’s a big accomplishment,” Boone said. “And hopefully that’s something that gets him rolling again. Again, the way he’s been through this the last couple of weeks, a lot of what we’ve seen today is just in and around some struggles within those outings, so I just thought the strike that the command got in today was outstanding.”
